Oil on canvas

60 x 73 cm. 23 5/8 x 28 3/4 in.

Signed and dated on lower right

Toshimitsu Imai was born to a family of port merchants in Osaka， Japan. After finishing school in 1948， he trained at the Tokyo State Art Academy. Imai’s early style of painting is reminiscent of the Fauves. He moved to Paris in 1952 and jumped into the Art Informel movement， from which he found his own cultural background against the backdrop of the western society. Imai’s huge successes at the 1953 São Paulo Biennale and the 1960 Venice Biennale earned him international acclaim.
In 1955， Imai met and developed friendship with Jean Dubuffet and Jean Fautrier， the founding figures of the Art Informel movement， through French art critic Michel Tapié. Exposed to new impression and influence， Imai’s artistic style took a dramatic turn. There is a radical and heavy note to his paintings in late 1950s， whereas the background exudes a sense of Chinese porcelain-like serenity. By virtue of his East Asian sensitivity， Imai had established himself as one of the most important Art Informel artists， always on the lookout for a kind of aesthetics distinct from that of Western modernism. His glamorous and expressive paintings in the 1960s make heavy use of red pigment， with its drops spiralling or radiating in all directions on the canvas.
The piece featured this season - Black Yellow and Green painted in 1981 respectively – is the work of transition style from the artist in the 1980s. Black and Yellow and Green is a sketched painting the artist made in 1981. From the depth of black to the neutral green through to the vibrant yellow， the seemingly disorderly interweaving of colourful lines is in fact a beautiful dance of their own， vivid and delicate. Each heavy brush stroke appears to be telling a story of encounters across different times， offering the audience a rich and sentimental viewing experience.

Price estimate:
HKD： 65,000 - 85,000
USD： 8,400 - 10,900

Auction Result:
HKD: --